The $500 Million Heist Hit High-Minded Cryptocurrency: QuickTake
Coincheck Heist Spurs Calls for More Crypto Regulation
When hackers broke into a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan last week, they made off with about $500 million. But what they stole wasn’t Bitcoin or Ether. They swiped a digital currency called XEM. If you have no idea what that is, you’re not alone. XEM was created in 2014 out of an organization called, helpfully, NEM, and has grown to become the world’s 10th-largest cryptocurrency with a valuation of about $7 billion. It’s most popular in Japan and Russia, but has followers around the world. NEM’s stated mission is unusually high-minded in this world of quick money: fight inequality, save the environment and allow anyone to use blockchain technology.
The official name now is "NEM," but the acronym originally meant New Economy Movement, New Economy Money and other progressive slogans. Invented in 2014 by someone identified only as UtopianFuture, its white paper is decorated with green leaves and quotes everyone from Haruki Murakami to Marcus Aurelius. It’s aimed at fixing the shortcomings of other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether.